With an 11-1 victory against No. 7 Kentucky on Friday, the LSU baseball team equaled its best start to a season in program history, and throughout the game the Tigers showcased a bit of everything that got them to the historic start.

A solid seven inning outing from sophomore righthander Aaron Nola, a double-digit scoring output and highlight-worthy defense was all on display for LSU (28-2, 9-1 Southeastern Conference) on Friday night, and it led to a convincing victory against a top-10 opponent.

Nola pitched seven innings, giving up only one earned run on four hits. Nola's only signs of trouble came in the fourth inning when he walked three batters to load the bases, and in the fifth when he surrendered his first hit and eventually his only run. Before and after that two inning struggle, though, Nola's pitching was calm and efficient.

Most of LSU's scoring came in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings when the Tigers plated 10 unanswered runs after Kentucky (22-7, 6-4 SEC) tied the game at one run each in the top of the fifth.

Nine of LSU's runs came with two outs, as the Tigers racked up six two-out hits during the three inning barrage.

The defensive side of the Tigers' winning equation came primarily on two plays from freshman centerfielder Mark Laird. In the first inning, Laird made a running catch while crashing into the right-field wall that was only to be outdone by his own diving catch in the third inning.

The full-extension diving catch in the third was actually made in right field, not center field where Laird began the play. Running almost halfway across the outfield, Laird tracked a high fly ball that rightfielder Sean McMullen lost in the setting sun. The lightning quick Laird snagged the ball inches before it hit the ground for a catch that both baffled and amazed the crowd at Alex Box Stadium.

"That was the best catch I've ever seen from a centerfielder," said freshman shortstop Alex Bregman. "I think he shocked every single person in Alex Box Stadium with those two catches."

Despite the impressive win, LSU Coach Paul Mainieri told his players not to take the margin of victory as an indication of being significantly better than Kentucky.

"This score was not indicative of the type of game this was," Mainieri said. "This was a very close game, tied 1-1 in the fifth, but we were able to respond and tack on at the end, which saved our bullpen."

Much of the Tigers' offense was sparked from two unlikely sources. Juniors Ty Ross and JaCoby Jones entered Friday night's game as LSU's two poorest batting averages in the starting lineup. Ross came in with a team-worst .179 average, and Jones carried a marginally better .188 mark.

But the pair changed that with a two multi-hit performances. Jones led the team with three hits and two RBIs. Ross was the only Tiger to reach base every time he batted, collecting two hits and a walk in his three at-bats.

Jones' performance pulled his paltry average above the .200 mark, and Ross nearly did the same, raising his average to .195 for the season.

"Those two guys have not gotten down on themselves, and they've worked extremely hard," Mainieri said. "They came up with a plan, and they executed the plan pretty good tonight, I thought."

"It was just nice to see them get going, especially against a left-handed pitcher because we're going to need them the rest of this weekend. The right-handed bats have to come through and those two will be critical for us."

Bregman, who carried a 17 game hitting streak into the game, waited until the last moment to extend his streak. Bregman didn't have a poor night from the plate by any means, driving in LSU's first run with a sacrifice fly and crossing the plate for another run after drawing a walk in the sixth.

But Bregman's streak looked to be in jeopardy in the seventh inning, as he stepped to the plate for what was most-likely to be his final at-bat. He shattered any fears of not extending his streak with a two-out triple that scored LSU's final run of the game.

"I was just trying to score the run right there," Bregman said. "I was just trying to get a pitch to hit and I was fortunate to get a good swing on it. I saw a fastball away, and it went right into my approach of going the other way."

On the mound, Nola (5-0) pitched confidently, not allowing a hit until the fifth inning, but he fell into trouble due to a rare loss of accuracy in the fourth inning. With three walks in the inning, he loaded the bases, but was able to get out of the inning.

It was only the second time in Nola's career that he allowed three walks in one game, and the first time he had ever walked three people in one inning.

"Walks bother me the most. They're more frustrating to me than hits," Nola said. "Luckily I bounced back and made the right pitches."

In the next inning he surrendered his first hit of the night to Kentucky shortstop Matt Reida. Then Nola hit catcher Micheal Thomas to occupy first and second base. Leadoff hitter Austin Cousino made Nola pay looping a single into center field, which scored Reida for Kentucky's only score of the night.

After Kentucky scratched home the run, Nola settled in again and finished his final two innings allowing only two more hits and without walking another batter.

Kentucky pitcher A.J. Reed (2-4) was not as fortunate.

After Kentucky tied the game in the fifth, it did not take long for LSU to awaken its bats in an emphatic way. LSU scored four runs on Reed in the bottom of the fifth to take all the lead it would need in the game.

Freshman Dylan Dwyer relieved Reed in the sixth and didn't fare any better. In Dwyer's one and two-thirds innings of work, LSU continued its onslaught and tallied another four earned runs on the freshman lefthander.

"Reed is tough. He never throws the same pitch two times in-a-row, and he was nibbling those corners," Mainieri said. "He made it tough on us, but I thought our guys just battled really hard and had some great at bats."

On Saturday LSU will try for one more win to officially establish the best start to a season in the programs history, but a win would also secure a series victory against a top-10 opponent. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.